Requirements for the Baccalaureate Degree
Minimum Number of Semester Hours
A minimum of 120 semester hours, i.e., the total of the course credits; as in "a minimum of 60 of the 120 semester hours shall be in the liberal arts and sciences." Beginning in the Fall 2017 term, the last 12 credits for completing a bachelor's degree must be taken at Mount Saint Mary College unless approved by the Academic Standards Committee under extenuating circumstances.
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Among the 120 semester hours, a minimum of 90 credits shall be in the liberal arts and sciences for a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. For the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree, a minimum of 60 of the 120 semester hours shall be in the liberal arts and sciences. For the BS degree through the education curriculum, a minimum of 60-89 of the 120 semester hours shall be in the liberal arts and sciences. For the BS degree for the nursing curriculum, a minimum of 60 of the 120 semester hours shall be in the liberal arts and sciences.
Minimum Grade Point Average
A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 (C grade) is required for the four years of study. Students pursuing New York State teaching certification must achieve a minimum GPA of 2.75.For a major to be recorded on the transcript, a student must have a minimum 2.0 Grade Point Average, calculated from all required courses contributing to the major.
General Education Courses
Completion of 39 credits in general education courses or liberal arts as shown below.
Arts and Letters Requirement (12 credits)
ENG 1010 (3) and ENG 1020 (3) are required courses for all students. At least 6 additional credits must be taken in this category. These 12 credits must be distributed over at least two areas in the category: English/communication arts (considered one area); and fine arts (art, music, and theater) or foreign languages. All teacher education students must complete at least 3 credits of a language other than English and all childhood education students must also have at least one course in art, music or theater.
To determine the placement of first-time, full-time freshmen students in the appropriate writing course, scores from the SAT or ACT will be used.
- Students scoring less than 25 on the SAT Writing and Language Test or less than 7 on the ACT Writing Test will be placed in ENG 1000: Fundamentals of Writing.
- Students scoring 25 or higher on the SAT Writing and Language Test or 7 or higher on the ACT Writing Test will be placed in ENG 1010: College Writing.
- Should a student take neither the SAT nor the ACT Writing test, a B average or better for the cumulative high school English will place the student in ENG 1010.
Students placed in ENG 1000 may challenge their placement if they have a three-year high school English average of a B or higher and submit a portfolio of work. The final determination of the student’s placement shall be made by the First-Year Writing Coordinator.
Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Information Technology Requirement (9 credits)
A minimum of one 3- or 4-credit laboratory science is required.
Science majors are advised to take
Non-science majors may take either
A minimum of one 3- or 4-credit mathematics course is required. Depending on the student's mathematical proficiency and on the requirements of individual majors, the following courses are appropriate. Science majors are advised to take MTH 1500 (3) or SCI 1030 (4); non-science majors may elect MTH 1015 or any higher-level course in mathematics. Various examinations are given to identify students' aptitude for quantitative literacy. If students do not receive a satisfactory score on the placement test to take a college-level mathematics course, they will be required to take MTH 1000.
The remaining 3-credit General Education requirement may be taken in either Natural Sciences (astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, or science (SCI)) or Mathematics and Information Technology (the only CSC and CIT courses that count for general education are CIT 3250, CIT 1900, or CIT 2550).
Philosophy and Religious Studies Requirement (9 credits)
A minimum of 3 credits in philosophy and a minimum of 3 credits in religious studies are required. The remaining 3 credits may be in either philosophy or religious studies. A maximum of ONLY 3 credits of philosophy at the 1000 level is allowed to satisfy this requirement.
Social Sciences Requirement (9 credits)
A minimum of one 3-credit course is required in history; any 1000-level course fulfills this requirement. The remaining 6 credits may be taken in the following areas so that within the total social science credits two areas are fulfilled (i.e., history plus one of the following): anthropology, criminology (CRI 1110 only) economics, geography, history, human services (HSR 1030/SW1030 only), political science, psychology and sociology.